The five Observers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have sent their foreign ministers or representatives to the 14th SAARC Summit which opened in New DelhiTuesday.

The foreign ministers of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and representatives from the United States of America and the European Union were invited to address the inaugural session of the meeting.

This is the first time that SAARC has invited Observers to its summit meeting, which is the highest authority of the regional grouping.

The Heads of State or Government of the SAARC Member Countries - - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, expressed welcome to the participation of the five Observers in their addresses at Tuesday's session.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said China welcomes and appreciates the decision by SAARC to accept it as an observer.

"As close neighbors, China and SAARC countries enjoy deep traditional friendship and there is a strong foundation for advancing our cooperation," said Li.

"We all belong to the developing world, are experiencing fast growth and facing historic opportunities of development. Good political atmosphere, close geographical location and popular support will greatly boost China-SAARC cooperation, which serves our common interests and peace, stability and development of the region," he said.

The Chinese government follows a policy of building friendship and partnership with its neighbors, Li told the delegates, saying that China, which is committed to regional cooperation, follows closely and supports the SAARC cooperation process.

"A peaceful, stable and prosperous South Asia and a SAARC of unity, cooperation and progress are in the interests of all countries in the region and China," he said.

"As the biggest neighbor of South Asia, China hopes that all South Asian countries will live in harmony and pursue common development and that SAARC will grow from strength to strength and play a bigger role in regional and world affairs."

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said the Japanese government has just put an additional 7 million U.S. dollars into the SAARC- Japan Special Fund.

He said Japan would do more, using its knowledge and experiences, in the disaster prevention area which is a common challenge for SAARC member countries.

He also pledged that the government of Japan shall cooperate more with the SAARC to achieve a better regional connectivity, and is keen on supporting SAARC's priority projects.

In his address, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon said the Korean government is willing to consult closely with SAARC countries to formulate concrete programs for cooperation.

Since the year 2000, the volume of South Korea's trade with SAARC countries has been increasing at an average rate of 22 percent per year, and two-way trade reached 11 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, said the Minister.

Song expressed his confidence that with the continued support of the international community, including SAARC member countries, the process of resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula will continue to move forward.

In a written message on the occasion of the opening of the SAARC Summit, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the European Commission stands ready to continue to share expertise and experience in all areas of interest to SAARC as well as in the implementation of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher was present at the opening session.

Source: Xinhua